Hinge construction for water closet seat



June 29, 6 A. 1.. MIDYETTE, JR 3,191,192

HINGE CONSTRUCTION FOR WATER CLOSET SEAT Filed Sept. 17, 1962 Fig. l.

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' INVENTOR Allen Lindsay Midyefle, Jr.

ATTO R N EY United States Patent M 3,191,192 HINGE CQNSTRUCTIGN FOR WATER CLGSET SEAT Allen L. Midyette, In, Monson, Mass, assignor to American Radiator & Standard Sanitary (Iorporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 223,929 4 Claims. (Cl. 4-240) In each of the prior art devices, difliculties have developed from improper initial adjustment, variation in adjustment due to wear, undesirable use of limited space, high manufacturing costs and other factors.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved water closet seat hinge means providing a substantially constant frictional force action over a period of sustained use.

A further object is to provide a hinge in which the frictional force may be adjusted and preset at the factory such that no further adjustment is required in the field when the seat is attached to the bowl or subsequently detached or attached.

Another object is to provide a hinge which may be adjusted and preset at the factory and which will not be disturbed in adjustment by attachment to the closet bowl.

Another object is to provide a hinge having the features and advantages described above and which is nevertheless readily adjustable in the field to meet special or unusual conditions.

Another object is to provide an improved water closet seat hinge having the feature of constant frictional force action and check means limiting the upward swing of the seat.

A still further object is to provide an improved hinge means incorporating the above features while at the same time being adaptable to present low cost manufacturing methods.

Another object is to provide an improved hinge having the above advantages and also requiring a minimum of space adjacent the water closet seat.

The above and still further objects of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims, and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a device incorporating the invention and mounted on a conventional Water closet bowl.

FIGURE 2 is a view in side elevation on the same scale as FIGURE l.'

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged (fragmentary) section, taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially on line 4 l of FIGURE 2.

Referring with greater particularity to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a conventional water closet bowl having a reduced rearwardly projecting portion 2, the side edge portions of which provide anchoring flanges 3. A water closet seat 4 is provided with a reduced portion 5 projecting rearwardly therefrom. Projecting laterally outwardly from opposite side edges 6 of the rearwardly projecting portion 5 in opposite directions are a pair of aligned hinge pintles 7, the inner ends of which are imbedded or otherwise rigidly secured to said portion 5.

Patented dune 2Q, 1965 In accordance with the invention, the seat 4 is pivotally connected to the anchoring flange 3 of the bowl 1 through the pintle 7, a clamping member ti, an anchor bolt 9, having a stop 10 fixed thereto, a securing nut 11, and a resilient member 12.

The clamping member it is U-shaped having a central portion apertured as at 8a to pivotally receive the pintle '7 and having two projecting leg portions 8b and 80 having aligned apertures 8d and $2 to receive the upper portion 9a of the anchor bolt 9. In the illustrated preferred embodiment of the invention, the apertured leg portion 812 of the clamp 3 is threaded to receive the threaded upper portion 9a of the bolt 9, and apertured leg portion of clamp S slidably accommodates the upper end 9:; of the bolt 9. Any other suitable means may be used to connect the bolt 9 to the leg Sb of the clamp 8. For example, a nut on the end of the portion 9a of bolt 9 would also be satisfactory and the threads in portion b of the clamp can be omitted.

The lower portion 9b of the bolt 9 is rigidly fixed to the anchoring flange 3 by the nut 11 and a washer 13 if desired, together with the fixed stop means 10. The stop means it may be any member integral with the bolt 9, as for example, a flange or separate member fixed to the bolt 9 as long as it prevents downward movement of the bolt through the aperture in the anchor flange 3. In the event that the aperture in the flange 3 is larger than the stop means 10, a washer 17 of outside diameter larger than the diameter of the aperture may be employed to abut the stop it as indicated. In some instances this may be useful to reduce the bar stock size necessary to produce the anchor bolt 9.

The resilient member 12 may be formed of any suitable material or form to present a resilient force between the stop it) and the leg Sc when the bolt 9 is adjusted to vary the distance between leg 8b and stop It). In the illustrated preferred form, a coil spring 12 is provided. A resilient washer could also be used or the stop member could be made to directly engage the leg 8c.

To avoid pivoting of the seat 4 to a degree which would cause it to hit the water tank (not shown) which i normally mounted adjacent the rear of the bowl 1, there is provided in accordance with an aspect of the invention, on a lateral surface 8 of the clamping member 3, which surface is normal to the pivotal axis of the pintle 7, spaced projecting stop members 14 and 15 which cooperate with a stop pin 16 accommodated in an aperture 7a radially through the pintle 7. Stop pin 16 also serves to hold the hinge post assembly against the seat.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the desired degree of friction between the clamping member 8 and the pintle 7 is preset at the factory by adjustably threading bolt 9 into the leg portion 81': of the clamping member 8 until the spring 12 is compressed and exerts the desired force on the leg portion 8c of the clamping member 8. A screwdriver slot 9c formed in the end of bolt 9 or other suitable means is provided for turning the bolt 9. This adjustment varies the opening between the stop 10 and a plane normal to the axis of the bolt 9 and passing through the axis of the pintle '7. The force on leg dc moves that leg in the direction of 8b which increases the friction between the pintle and clamping member is thus preset.

Several advantages should now be apparent in the above structure.

One advantage is that the clamping means 8 through its interior surface formed by the aperture 8a engages nearly 360 of the periphery of the pintle 7 to generate maximum friction on the pintle and maximum wearing surface to produce maximum life without readjustment. Further, the spring 12 in cooperation with the clamping means 8, facilitates accurate adjustment of the frictional 3 force and a measure of automatic adjustment as the pivotal surfaces of the clamping member and pintle wear..

A further advantage is found in that by adjustment of the bolt 9 in the leg portion 8b of the clamping means, the desired'frictional force may be preset accurately at the factory and by reason of the stop means 10, field assembly of the anchor'bolt in the flange 3 of the water closet bowl will not alter or distrub the factory preset of the clamping means. This is particularly important because it saves time of workmen in the field, because it insures a uniform proper adjustment not dependent upon the skill or judgment offield installation men and because by so doing it avoids complaints to the plumber and additional trips to the job to correct adjustment. Also, for customer preference or unusual conditions, adjustment can be'made in the field and securing of the hinge assembly to the bowl will not alter'this preadjustment. There is provided a simple adjusting means for .adjusting'the tank (not shown).

Another advantage, and one which is also a basic neces sity for commercial success of the product is the fact that each ofthe elements in the complete assembly is readily adaptable to low cost manufacturing methods.

While in the foregoing I have described preferred embodiments of the invention, by way of illustration, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and it is therefore intended in the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: I

1. A hinge for attaching a water closet seat to a water closet bowl having an apertured flange, comprising elongated anchor bolts having lower portions passing through said apertures in said water closet bowl flange, stop means 1 fixed to each of said anchor bolts to engage an upper surfaceof said flange to limit the downward movement of said anchor bolts through said aperture, pintlesfixed to the water'closet seat, generally U-shaped clamping members formed to pivotally receive each of said pintles and to present leg portions relatively movable to adjust the pressure of said clamping members on said'pintles, said clamping member leg portions having aligned apertures to receive the upper portion of each of said anchor bolts, one of said leg portions slidably receiving said anchor bolt in its respective aperture, the other of said leg portions being adjustably attached to said anchor bolt, a resilient member carried by each of said anchor bolts and disposed between said stop means and said one leg portion such that said resilient member'tends to urge said one leg portion towards the other leg portion, each of said anchor bolts being rotatable relative to its respective clamping member to move said other leg portion towards said one leg portion to vary the amount of force applied by the resilient memher to said clamping member and thereby vary the force with which said pintles are clamped, and securing means attachable to the lower portions of each of said anchor bolts and rotatable relative to said anchor bolts to engage a lower surface of said flange and wedge the latter between said stop means and-said securing means to thereby secure the anchor'bolts in place on ,said flange independently of the force applied by the resilient members to said clamping members. 7 I

2; A hinge for a water closet seat as claimed in claim 1, further comprising meansprojecting from and fixed to said clamping member and means extending from and rotatable with said pintle to cooperate with said projecting means inlimiting the rotation of said'pintle in said clamping member;

3. A hinge for a water closet seat as claimed in claim 1, further comprising projecting means formed on a surface of said clamping member normal to the axis of rotation of said pintle,.and means fixed to and projecting from said pintle in a radial direction to engage and cooperate with said projecting means to limit the rotationof'said 'pintle in said clamping member.

4..A hinge for attaching a water closet seat to a water closet bowl having an apertured flange, comprising elongated anchor bolts having lower portions passing through said apertures. in said watercloset bowl flange, stop means carried by each of said anchor bolts to engage an upper surface of said flange .to limit the downward movement of said anchor bolts through said aperture, pintles fixed to the water closet seat, clamping members formed to pivotally receive. each of said pintles-and to present two relatively movable parts to adjust the pressure ofsaid clamping member on said pintles, a resilient member carried by each of said anchor bolts and disposed between said stop means and one of said movable parts such that said resilient member tends to urge said movable parts toward .one another, each of said anchor bolts being rotatable relative to saidflclamping member to vary the amount of force ap'pliedby the resilient member to said movable parts and thereby vary. the force with which said pintles are clamped, and securing means attachable to the lower portions of each of said anchor bolts and rotatable relative to said anchor bolts to engage a lower surface of said flange and. wedge the latter between said stop means and said securing means to thereby secure the anchor bolts in place on said flange independently of the force applied by the resilient members to said clamping members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS EDWARD v. BENHAM, Primary Examiner. FRAN BRONAUQH, Examiner, 

1. A HINGE FOR ATTACHING A WATER CLOSET SEAT TO A WATER CLOSET BOWL HAVING AN APERTURED FLANGE, COMPRISING ELONGATED ANCHOR BOLTS HAVING LOWER PORTIONS PASSING THROUGH SAID APERTURES IN SAID WATER CLOSET BOWL FLANGE, STOP MEANS FIXED TO EACH OF SAID ANCHOR BOLTS TO ENGAGE AN UPPER SURFACE OF SAID FLANGE TO LIMIT THE DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OFF SAID ANCHOR BOLTS THROUGH SAID APERTURE, PINTLES FIXED TO THE WATER CLOSET SEAT, GENERALLY U-SHAPED CLAMPING MEMBERS FORMED TO PIVOTALLY RECEIVE EACH OF SAID PINTLESS, SAID TO PRESENT LEG PORTIONS RELATIVELY MOVABLE TO ADJUST THE PRESSURE OF SAID CLAMPING MEMBERS ON SAID PINTLESS, SAID CLAMPING MEMBER LEG PORTIONS HAVING ALIGNED APERTURES TO RECEIVE THE UPPER PORTION OF EACH OF SAID ANCHOR BOLTS, ONE OF SAID LEG PORTIONS SLIDABLY RECEIVING SAID ANCHOR BOLT IN ITS RESPECTIVE APERTURE, THE OTHER OF SAID LEG PORTIONS BEING ADJUSTABLY ATTACHED TO SAID ANCHOR BOLOT, A RESILIENT MEMBER CARRIED BY EACH OF SAID ANCHOR BOLTS AND DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID STOP MEANS AND SAID ONE LEG PORTION SUCH THAT SAID RESILIENT MEMBER TENDS TO URGE SAID ONE LEG PORTION TOWARDS THE OTHER LEG PORTION, EACH OF SAID ANCHOR BOLTS BEING ROTATABLE RELATIVE TO ITS RESPECTIVE CLAMPING MEMBER TO MOVE SAID OTHER LEG PORTION TOWARDS SAID ONE LEG PORTION TO VARY THE AMOUNT OF FORCE APPLIED BY THE RESILIENT MEMBER TO SAID CLAMPING MEMBER AND THEREWBY VARY THE FORCE WITH WHICH SAID PINTLES ARE CLAMPED, AND SECURING MEANS ATTACHABLE TO THE LOWER PORIONS OF EACH OF SAID ANCHOR BOLTS AND ROTATABLE RELATIVE TO SAID ANCHOR BOLTS TO ENGAGE A LOWER SURFACE OF SAID FLANGE AND WEDGE THE LATTER BETWEEN SAID STOP MEANS AND SAID SECURING MEANS TO THEREBY SECURE THE ANCHOR BOLTS IN PLACE ON SAID FLANGE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE FORCE APPLIED BY THE RESILIENT MEMBERS TO SAID CLAMPING MEMBERS. 